Respite
by defyingnormalcy
Summary: A 'before and after' to compliment the Sharon, Andrea, and Rusty scenes in episode 3x16. Andrea Hobbs/Sharon Raydor established couple.


"Hi," Andrea said happily as she answered her phone. "Didn't think I would get to hear from you today. How's your case going?" she asked as she juggled her venti Americano and briefcase in one hand.

Andrea frowned as she heard Sharon let out a tense breath on the other end. "That well huh?" she deadpanned.

"I need your help, please. This is outside of our ongoing case," Sharon said evenly.

Andrea could imagine that Sharon was pinching the delicate bridge of her nose right now. "Of course, whatever you need," Andrea assured her.

"Emma Rios has thrown a wrench into this whole Philip Stroh proceeding. I would really appreciate it if you could…talk with Rusty perhaps? Offer him some insight?" Sharon asked hesitantly.

"Absolutely," Andrea said without missing a beat. "I'm just waiting on Provenza's call, which he informed me would likely come later this afternoon, but," Andrea grimaced; as she was attempting to land her bag and drink on her desk, she accidently spilled some of the hot beverage onto the polished wood. "Um yes, it's not a problem," she finished distractedly.

"Did I catch you at a bad time Counselor?" Sharon teased. She could tell that Andrea was suddenly preoccupied by something.

"Oh, fine, just spilled my drink everywhere," Andrea huffed. "The coffee machine in the break room is broken so I can't even top it off," she said miserably.

"Oh my, what a travesty," Sharon said mockingly. She giggled at the sound of Andrea responding grumble. "We both know who overworked that machine to the point that it's out of commission."

Andrea cleared her throat and felt herself blushing slightly. "I'll be sure to connect with Rusty before I leave your office today," she said briskly.

"Thank you Andrea," Sharon said, allowing her lover to end their conversation with some of her dignities intact.

XXX

A knock at the door startled Rusty slightly. Frowning, he closed the refrigerator door and made his way to Sharon's condo door.

"My hands are full I can't reach my key," came the muffled voice of Andrea Hobbs through the thick door.

Rusty opened the door and reached out to grab whatever was in her hands. "What's this?" he asked as he brought everything to the breakfast bar.

"Dinner," Andrea huffed. "It's been a rough day; I thought that we could all use a treat." She smiled at him as he opened a bag.

"Wow, Andrea, how much food did you order?" Rusty laughed as he surveyed the contents of the bag. There were four burgers, two large fries as well as a box of fried pickles. "Sharon doesn't eat this stuff," he added as an afterthought.

"Don't worry, I've got it covered," Andrea lifted the bag still in her hands. "I got her a grilled chicken salad."

Moments later the plates were on the table and the two of them were unpacking their hearty meal.

"This is great," Rusty said between bites. "I've never had burgers from this place before…Oaks Gourmet," he read aloud as he looked at the restaurant's logo on the napkin next to his plate. "Sounds super fancy, I'm surprised that this place even makes something as common as burgers." The sly grin he wore on his face was enough to indicate to Andrea that he was teasing her.

Andrea rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I've heard good things about it and thought that it might be worth a try. I should not have gone there on an empty stomach though. What was I thinking?" She frowned as she looked at the second burger she'd ordered for herself.

Rusty snickered. "You must have been starving; I have never even seen you finish one burger let alone two."

"Hey, I will have you know that once I was young like you and could eat a table full of food and not put on an ounce," Andrea said defensively.

"Uh huh, so what happened?" Rusty asked, smirking. He reached for the deep fried pickles, noticing Andrea's scowl.

"I swear youth is wasted on the young. One day you'll get a burger belly. One day," Andrea said determinedly.

Rusty chuckled and reached for his soda between bites of fried pickle.

Next to him, Andrea picked at her fries and relaxed against her chair. A comfortable silence fell between them for a few moments before Andrea next spoke. "Look, I just wanted to make sure that we're okay. I don't want to bring up the whole Stroh thing again; I know that's not easy for you to talk about and I completely understand. What you said earlier about lawyers, I don't begrudge you for that. It's a tough profession, and I am well aware of that. But I want to make a promise to you: I will never lie to you or manipulate the truth, okay?"

Rusty shifted in his seat and picked awkwardly at his box of fries. "I'm sorry, what I said earlier, that really wasn't cool," he admitted.

"You don't have to apologize," Andrea assured him.

Rusty crossed his arms in front of his chest protectively and let out a frustrated sigh. "Just…how can people do stuff like that? How can a whole profession – mostly – make a living out of manipulating the truth?" he asked.

Andrea wiped her greasy fingertips on her napkin and folded her hands in her lap. She looked Rusty square in the eye and offered him a grim nod and a shrug. "I don't really know how to answer that. That's not why we invented law, that's not why any of us became lawyers, at least I don't think it is. As lawmakers and defenders, we have a say in people's fate. That is a great responsibility. Some people – " Rusty raised his eyebrows and she amended – "_most _people allow that kind of power to corrupt them," she said sadly.

Rusty regarded her carefully for a while. "Why did you get into law?" he asked.

"Lots of reasons. But it all came back to one thing really; I wanted to try and make the world a better place. I know it's hard for you to see lawyers as people capable of making the world better, but, if we do our jobs right, that's exactly what we can and should be doing," Andrea explained.

"Yeah," Rusty said noncommittally. "Then why…why did you hand the Stroh case over to Rios?" he asked quietly.

Andrea let out a breath. "Rusty, I want nothing more than to see that man put away for life, and to be, even in part, responsible for it. But I can't." She shook her head and smiled at him. "My relationship with Sharon…with you…I just can't. It would harm you and your credibility as a witness."

"Yeah, but you're dating _Sharon,_ and you guys don't even live together. I mean _that's _what would piss everyone off. I don't think Emma is ever going to forgive Sharon for letting me live here," Rusty said frankly.

"Yes, that is all true, but in addition, I also have very deep personal feelings for you as well. And that compromises my ability to question you on the witness stand, and to sit by and watch as Stroh's defense, or rather, now Stroh himself, try and break you," Andrea said quietly.

"Oh." Rusty uncrossed his arms and began to fiddle with the hem of his sweater.

Andrea let out a soft chuckle. "Oh, indeed."

Rusty looked down at his hands, which were suddenly infinitely interesting and frowned. He liked Andrea well enough; in fact, he _really_ liked her. She made him laugh and she fit in well with his and Sharon's new life, and she never pushed him or pressured him into, well anything really.

"What a pain, hmm?" Andrea said amusedly.

Rusty looked up. "Huh?"

"Having both a cop and a lawyer worrying about you," she clarified. She chuckled, but the sound that emitted, it was unlike her; it was missing her usual confidence and bravado.

Rusty shrugged. "Well, at least I am covered now. If I ever decide to rob a bank or steal a car that is," he said.

Andrea's eyes widened; she opened her mouth and shut it abruptly.

"A joke," Rusty said, fighting to hold back his laughter at Andrea's incredulous expression.

"I promise you that no child of Sharon's will knowingly commit a crime and live to tell the tale if she ever finds out," Andrea laughed.

"Yeah, you're probably right on that," Rusty conceded.

"Right about what?" Sharon asked. She'd come home just moments ago to the sound of laughter coming from her kitchen; it had been years since she'd come home to that sound. Quietly, she'd tip-toed into her condo to find Rusty and Andrea sitting at the table, laughing at whatever they'd just shared out-loud.

Andrea shook her head and waved for Sharon to sit with them. "Just, life," she answered vaguely.

"It's fine Sharon, really," Rusty offered.

Sharon looked between the two blondes as she took a seat next to Andrea. "Alright then," she said slowly. She noticed the meal of choice on the table and grimaced slightly. "Burgers…again," she noted.

"Don't worry. Andrea got you a salad," Rusty said hastily as she retrieved it from the fridge.

"Thank you," Sharon said gratefully. She shared a tender look with Andrea when she opened the salad and noticed that Andrea had requested that the chicken be grilled and not fried.

The three of them fell into their usual dinnertime routine, with each one of them taking turns sharing the details of their day. Andrea pushed her untouched second burger over to Rusty and marveled at how he managed to throw that one back as though he hadn't just consumed two on his own. It wasn't long before Sharon started to eye Andrea's half-eaten fries, nor was it much after that Andrea pushed the box closer to Sharon with a laugh and shake of her head. After finishing the rest of his fries, Rusty collected the dishes and loaded the dishwasher, leaving the two women to share a few moments relaxing together. The machine loaded and the delicate glasses washed by hand, Rusty bade them both good night and retired to his room to catch the latest episode of The Daily Show before getting to bed.

Shortly after Rusty left them, Andrea and Sharon retired to the more private and intimate atmosphere of Sharon's balcony, glasses of their favourite Chardonnay in hand.

"What a day," Sharon sighed as she curled up next to Andrea's side.

Andrea took a sip of her wine and placed the glass carefully on the coffee table next to the patio sofa. "It was definitely a day," she conceded as she brushes her lips against Sharon's forehead.

"Thank you for your help today," Sharon murmured. "I know that Rusty is still….distrusting sometimes."

"I don't blame him for it. A lot has happened in the last two years for him Sharon. I don't expect any more than what he can give me at any given time," Andrea said. "He went from no mother to finding an foster mother, then inheriting her girlfriend, and then finding his biological mother, only to have his foster mother adopt him after all."

Sharon chuckled against Andrea's shoulder. "Well, when you put it like that."

"You know, he's calling you mom in public even when he isn't joking. And people around him are starting to refer to you as his mother," Andrea noted.

Sharon shrugged against Andrea. "So?" she asked, but her voice trembled a little.

Andrea smiled against the delicate lines on Sharon's forehead. "So," she continued. "I think it's really beautiful how everyone has just naturally accepted it. Maybe it was a joke at first, but it's become a reality, and everyone knows it. Even Rusty."

Sharon hummed and nodded her head slightly.

"I know that you never wanted to replace his mother. But, the truth is, I don't think she ever really was, in a true sense, his mother. Having a child doesn't make you a parent. What you did for him, the patience and love you showed him when he was at his most volatile, that's what makes a parent," Andrea said.

Still, Sharon remained silent.

Andrea brought a hand up to brush Sharon's hair off of her shoulder. "You know, I said to your team today, it takes someone special, no, extraordinary, to truly understand a troubled child. A lot of people will either take advantage of that child or walk away from them. But very few really have what it takes to love them and to care for them."

"I did what anyone with half a heart would have done," Sharon dismissed.

Andrea smiled. "Sharon you can try and be as humble as you like, but I am here to tell you that you are most definitely wrong. And yes, once in a while you are actually wrong," Andrea said, her eyes were twinkling with adoration as she watched Sharon purse her lips.

"I'm not comfortable thinking that what I did was anything out of the ordinary. Taking him in, I don't like people thinking that it was heroic or anything," Sharon said uncomfortably. "It just….it feels wrong."

"That's okay," Andrea said. "Don't think of yourself as a hero. But that boy does. And he will always be grateful to you."

"That's another thing: I don't need him to continually thank me. I just need him to be safe, to be smart, and to be kind," Sharon said, she wiggled closer to Andrea and wrapped an arm around her waist. "And I need him to know that he's loved," she added.

Andrea rubbed gentle circles across Sharon's silk-blouse-clad back. "He is safe, he is smart, and he has demonstrated incredible kindness….thanks to you."

Sharon scoffed and pulled back to glare half-heartedly at Andrea.

"You could just accept my compliment of your wonderful parenting skills," Andrea huffed.

Sharon contemplated Andrea's words for a moment. A slight smile graced her face and the delicate skin around her eyes crinkled happily. She hummed to herself, then settled back into Andrea's embrace.

"Oh, and I forgive you for eating all of my fries. Again," Andrea added, causing Sharon to erupt into giggles.

"You were done with them," she insisted.

"Not quite, but that's okay. I love you and I will let you steal my fries from me. It's a sacrifice I am willing to make in this relationship," Andrea said.

Sharon cupped Andrea's chin and brought their faces together. "Well, I'm very grateful then," she whispered.

Slowly, their lips met, brushing over one another for precious moments before they connected in an unhurried kiss. Sharon could taste the sweetness of the Chardonnay on Andrea's lips, and she hummed against the blonde's lips.

They sat entwined together like that until the chilled evening breeze forced them to retreat indoors. Andrea gathered the now empty wine glasses and followed her lover inside, pausing only to set the glasses gently down on the kitchen countertop before taking Sharon's hand, and following her to the sanctuary of her room, and the warmth of her bed.


End file.
